Definition
Basalt is a common extrusive igneous rock formed by the rapid cooling of basaltic lava exposed at or very near the surface of Earth
Wehrlite is an ultramafic and ultrabasic rock that is a mixture of olivine and clinopyroxene. It is a subdivision of the peridotites
Discoverer
Georgius Agricola
Alois Wehrle
Etymology
From Late Latin Basaltes (variant of basanites ), very hard stone, which was imported from Ancient Greek Basanites
From the name of a professor, Alois Wehrle
Class
Igneous Rocks
Igneous Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Other Categories
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular
Banded
Color
Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey
Dark Greenish - Grey, Green
Durability
Durable
Durable
Scratch Resistant
Yes
Yes
Appearance
Dull and Soft
Rough and Banded
Interior Uses
Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens
Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
As Building Stone, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
Curbing, Whetstones
Curbing
Construction Industry
Arrowheads, As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones, Cutting Tool, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone
As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones
Medical Industry
Not Yet Used
NA
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts, Monuments
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Commercial Uses
An Oil and Gas Reservoir, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork, Used in aquariums
Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry
Types
Alkaline Basalt, Boninite, High Alumina Basalt, Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), Tholeiitic Basalt, Basaltic trachyandesite, Mugearite and Shoshonite
Not Available
Features
Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate, Very fine grained rock
Constitutes upper part of the Earth's mantle, Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock
Archaeological Significance
Famous Monuments
Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean, Gateway of India in Mumbai, India, Gol Gumbaz in Karnataka, India
Data Not Available
Famous Sculptures
Data Not Available
Data Not Available
Formation
Basalt forms when lava reaches the Earth's surface near an active volcano. The temperature of lava is between 1100 to 1250° C when it gets to the surface.
Wehrlite is a fine-grained, hard rock which is a type of metasomatite, essentially altered basalt. It forms with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks.
Mineral Content
Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene
Pyroxene
Compound Content
Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Phosphorus Pentoxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Carbon Dioxide, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Phosphorus Pentoxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
Types of Metamorphism
Contact Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Types of Erosion
Not Available
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion
Grain Size
Fine Grained
Coarse Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Irregular
Streak
White to Grey
White
Porosity
Less Porous
Less Porous
Luster
Not Available
Metallic
Compressive Strength
Not Available
Cleavage
Not Available
Perfect
Specific Gravity
2.8-3
8.4
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
2.9-3.1 g/cm3
2.6-3.7 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
India, Russia
China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey
Africa
South Africa
Morocco, South Africa
Europe
Iceland
Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela
Others
Not Yet Found
Not Yet Found
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, USA
Canada, USA
South America
Brazil
Brazil
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
Not Yet Found
New Zealand, Western Australia
Basalt vs Wehrlite Characteristics
Though some rocks look identical, they have certain characteristics which distinguish them from others. Characteristics of rocks include texture, appearance, color, fracture, streak, hardness etc. Basalt vs Wehrlite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Basalt and Properties of Wehrlite. Learn more about Basalt vs Wehrlite in the next section. The interior uses of Basalt include Floor tiles, Homes, Hotels and Kitchens whereas the interior uses of Wehrlite include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Basalt and Wehrlite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Basalt in construction industry include Arrowheads, As dimension stone, Cobblestones, Cutting tool, Rail track ballast, Roadstone and that of Wehrlite include As dimension stone, Cobblestones.
More about Basalt and Wehrlite
Here you can know more about Basalt and Wehrlite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Basalt and Wehrlite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Basalt includes Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene and mineral content of Wehrlite includes Pyroxene. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Basalt vs Wehrlite, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Basalt is available in black, brown, light to dark grey colors whereas, Wehrlite is available in dark greenish - grey, green colors. Appearance of Basalt is Dull and Soft and that of Wehrlite is Rough and Banded. Properties of rock is another aspect for Basalt vs Wehrlite. The hardness of Basalt is 6 and that of Wehrlite is 5.5-6. The types of Basalt are Alkaline Basalt, Boninite, High Alumina Basalt, Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), Tholeiitic Basalt, Basaltic trachyandesite, Mugearite and Shoshonite whereas types of Wehrlite are Not Available. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Basalt is white to grey while that of Wehrlite is white. The specific heat capacity of Basalt is 0.84 kJ/Kg K and that of Wehrlite is 0.63 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Basalt is heat resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant whereas Wehrlite is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant.